A Curious Clanmate
by Half-Blood Warrior Kitty
Summary: Ferncloud discovers Barkpaw's mother dead, and gets Firestar to allow him to stay. "A secret weapon," as Firestar puts it, Barkpaw is accepted by the Clan, but there is hostility lurking in the shadows.... TAKES PLACE AFTER THE POWER OF THREE!
1. Chapter 1

A Curious Clanmate Prologue

The dog pelted through the forest, her precious bundle dangling from her jaws. _'Run, must run. Run fast, run away.'_ The humans were getting closer. _'Run. Run. Run. Run. Ru-' her_ cry was cut short as a tiny round object seemed to leap from the human's hand. It hit the dog in the side and made a beeline for her heart. She fell mid-sprint; her bundle careened towards the ground with a whimper. The she-dog was dead.

Chapter 1

"What's that?"

Blossompaw's question rang out in the silent forest. Ferncloud scented the air. Something smelled…off.

"Follow me," Ferncloud instructed Lionblaze's apprentice.

Blossompaw eagerly followed.

Ferncloud gasped as she took in the sight in front of her. A dead dog lay in between two trees, and a pitiful whimpering came from her kit, on the ground not far away.

Ferncloud raced out of the bushes and licked the dog kit. "Poor little scrap," she mewed. "Blossompaw! Help me bring it back to camp."

Blossompaw blinked in surprise. "A dog?" she meowed. "Firestar will never let you-" She broke off as Ferncloud grasped the dog kit by its scruff.

************

Ferncloud stalked into camp, and all conversations ceased. She padded forward to the nursery while Blossompaw ran to tell Firestar of their discovery. The Clan instinctively backed up to the walls. Even Dustpelt looked shocked, which scared Ferncloud. He usually loved her enough to not care what she did.

Daisy warily stepped forward.

"Ferncloud," her friend mewed. "That's a…_dog."_

Ferncloud dipped her head. "Yes. I know," she murmured around a mouthful of dog-kit fur.

Firestar stepped out of his den on the Highledge. His eyes were unreadable, but his voice was even as he mewed, "Well?"

Ferncloud put the dog-kit down to explain to her Clan leader. "Blossompaw and I found a dead dog on our territory. The dog's kit was alive, near it. It looked so pitiful, I…I felt I _had_ to bring it back and possibly," she drew a breath. "Care for it." She looked with pleading eyes to Firestar.

"What to do," he muttered thoughtfully.

Instantly, there arose a caterwauling from the cats spread around the hollow.

"Kill it!"

"Drive it out!"

Ferncloud hissed. "If he goes, I go!"

Firestar leaped down from his perch and stalked up to Ferncloud. He turned his gaze to the pitiful creature at her paws, whose eyes had widened in fear. The Clan leader's eyes softened as he addressed ThunderClan.

"It can do no harm now. It is just a kit. Who knows? Maybe we have a secret weapon on our paws…"

Eyes brimming with gratitude, Ferncloud picked up the dog-kit and carried him to the nursery. Her son, Foxfur, padded up to help her.

"Mother," he mewed. "You have done a good thing."

Iceflower came up behind her brother. "What will his name be?"

Ferncloud settled the dog-kit in the moss nest before she answered.

"Barkkit."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Barkpaw! Barkpaw! Wake up, you lump!"

Barkpaw leaped to his paws and swung his head around.

"Wha-" he mumbled, half asleep. Bumblepaw had been pummeling him with his paws. "What do you want?" Barkpaw yawned.

"Firestar wants you for patrol," Bumblepaw reported.

A patrol! Barkpaw hadn't been on one in ages! "I'm on my way," he mewed excitedly.

Briarpaw came out of the apprentice den behind her brother. "This will be our last patrol as apprentices! Graystripe and Millie must be so proud of us!" she meowed. She looked up at Barkpaw. The younger apprentice towered over most cats. "I'm sure you won't have to wait long for your turn."

A loud yowl from Foxfur, Barkpaw's mentor, sent all three apprentices scrambling towards the ThunderClan camp entrance.

************

Barkpaw crouched on the ground next to his mentor. "What do you scent?" Foxfur mewed.

Barkpaw opened his jaws to taste the air. "ShadowClan," he hissed.

"That's not surprising, seeing as we are right near the border," Cinderheart, Briarpaw's mentor commented.

"You there! Why are you crossing the border?" The voice was unfamiliar.

Barkpaw poked his head out from behind a bush only to have it brought back down again by his mentor. "Stay down!" Foxfur hissed with an unusual ferocity. "Now, here is what you will do. Stay here."

Foxfur leapt up to confront the ShadowClan cat that had made the accusation.

Curious, Barkpaw nosed around the bush to find a vantage point. The ShadowClan cat spotted movement and called out.

"I know you are there! Show yourself!"

"Fox dung," Foxfur muttered under his breath.

Swallowing hard, Barkpaw shouldered his way out of the bush. The ShadowClan cats' eyes widened and they immediately turned tail and fled. The odd thing, though, was that his Clanmates did not seem the least bit surprised.


End file.
